At a glance

The Webster Central School District (WCSD) is located eight miles outside of the city of Rochester, New York and is the second largest suburban school district in Monroe County.

The Challenge

Webster schools serve approx 8,500 students in 11 schools, kindergarten through grade 12. WCSD offers a broad range of academic programming based on New York State learning standards. Curriculum in the Webster Central School District is designed to expose students to the knowledge, skills and experience they need for success in the classroom as well as future contributors to a global economy.

The Solution

Peter outlines how the Webster Central School District saw a seamless integration with Read&Write, “ We found it particularly helpful that the how-to videos are available, they are brief, high quality and help act as instruction for teachers to learn new tools.”

Webster Central School District

Read&Write empowers students within Webster School District to reach

The Webster Central School District (WCSD) is located eight miles outside of the city of Rochester, New York and is the second largest suburban school district in Monroe County.

After trying out a number of different assistive technologies over the years, the Webster School District was introduced to Read&Write. WCSD initially purchased a limited amount of Read&Write for windows licenses, including four secondary schools and seven elementary schools, which was warmly welcomed by both students and teachers. As Google became more and more commonly used within schools, the district then decided to purchase Read and Write for Google Chrome, and within a year, decided to swith to a domain license.

Peter Bertram, Assistive Technology Specialist within Webster School District, shares an insight into how Read&Write has been allowing students to reach their full potential.

“ We went with Read&Write for Google Chrome as opposed to other alternatives, because it's simpler, and provides us with a solution to provide universal design for learning to our whole district...as it is a software which is easy to deploy, it also took weight off the IT department.”

“The more we began using Google, it made more sense for us to roll out Read&Write over the whole domain, now it is seamless and less stigmatising. We knew it was going to be the best solution for our district.”

Peter also explains the diversity of students who have the opportunity to use the assistive technology, “Currently within the district, Read&Write is being used by students on laptops, ipads, students with disabilities, second language learners and students who simply just prefer to react with their learning environment with Read&Write.”

“Before, students often couldn’t share with their teachers that they were struggling, they would have to speak out loud which could affect self esteem...Read&Write is much more discreet.”

“We have students at every level who have improved. When independent reading is taking place within the classroom, all students have the opportunity to use Read&Write. Students often use their own initiative to use it, a testament to how easy the software is to use.”

"Students, regardless of having a disability or not, enjoy using Read&Write, it’s a powerful tool. It provides kids with really rigorous tools to be able to differentiate and personalise their learning experience." -Kim Ganley, Director of OT, PT, SLP and AT; Webster Central School District